Lawrence’s Seven Pillars redefined the Semite as Arab rather than Jew

Evidence

In that book, Lawrence retained Renan’s emphasis on the intrinsic relationship between the Semite and the environment of Western Asia. He also used the term Semite synonymously with his main subject of interest. But unlike Renan, particularly at the end of his career, Lawrence’s principal Semite was the Arab. Indeed, he almost removed the Jew entirely from the picture. Even for Lawrence, this conception marked a big shift from his earlier understanding of the Jew and the Orient. — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 699

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the recurring pattern in this book and the broad antisemitism literature of racial categories being flexibly redeployed to fit political needs.